Related Articles

Two months later she returned to work full-time, but post-natal depression and the pressures of work led her to suffer a nervous breakdown. She spent nine weeks in a psychiatric hospital and now blames her illness on returning to work so soon. “I had a basic need to be with my baby and I totally ignored this very primitive instinct,” she said.

Campbell resigned and returned to university to study creative writing. On The Floor is her third novel and the first to be nominated for a major prize.

Speaking yesterday from her home in Dublin, Campbell, 50, said she wanted to write a book about the tough reality of life in the City.

“I was always interested in writing about the City because it’s a closed world. But it took a long time because it’s difficult to make that world explainable to people outside it,” she said.

“And I specifically wanted to write about women at work because I don’t think we read enough about that in fiction. If a woman is in a male-dominated world, what does she discover about herself?”

Campbell said she loved her job and her bosses were supportive during her illness, but she has no regrets about her career change.

“I loved the job but it had run its course. I had been writing ever since I was a kid but when I did finally knuckle down to write a novel I was in a better place.

“I think all the working helped - it gave me self-discipline and experience,” she said.

There are 20 books on the female-only longlist including five debut novels. The shortlist will be announced on April 17 and the winner at a ceremony on May 30.

The judging panel is chaired by Joanna Trollope, who said: “I am very proud of this year’s Orange longlist. It not only demonstrates the judges’ eye for quality, but is also evidence of the breadth of subject matter, and individuality of voice, in women’s writing today.

“We were looking for excellence, accessibility and originality, and we found all three, over and over.”